Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [06]

May 26, 2019December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads1 Comment

We’re back with another Sundays In Bed With… meme, which dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday I finally finished reading Final Girls by Riley Sager! I’ve noticed for months now that Sager’s books have been quite hyped on bookstagram and so when I found this book in the store two weeks ago, I scooped it up immediately knowing it would be the perfect thrilling poolside read for my staycation. This was a perfectly fast paced thriller, although it admittedly took me longer than usual to finish this because I was also reading four other books at the same time for group reads and had deadlines… 😬 I’m so glad I took the time to finish it today. I had so many theories, especially about the main protagonist, Quincy. I was so sure she was a ‘baddy’ but I kept questioning myself throughout and Sager kept me guessing up until the very end. I didn’t expect the twists at all and I was actually appalled with the ending because it involved a character that I really liked and I was just totally shook. But in the absolute best way! I can’t wait to read something else by Sager–I think he’s potentially an autobuy author.

Have you read Final Girls? What are you currently reading?

I feel like a lot has been happening over the last week-and-a-half since my bestie came to visit me for my birthday. I can’t believe that May is now already four-days from being over and my birthday has already passed! (BOO 😭) I’ve always used my birthday as a kind of “mid-way” counter for my year, since technically we’re now half-way through the year. I missed quite a few blogging days over the last week, but I think I came back fairly strong with all the posts this week? Writing out all these reviews made me feel hella productive! 😂 Also feeling productive today because I finished sorting out my books to place in the new bright yellow Billy bookcase my parents got me for my birthday. I’m so pleased with how my shelves are looking right now! How are your May reads coming along? May has been a fairly weird and slow reading month for me as so much has been happening with life and work. I don’t think I’ve got through half of what I wanted to read, but life happens, so I’m not too mad about it! Just in case you missed it, here are the posts I’ve made this week:

ARC Review: I Spy the Boy Next Door by Samantha Armstrong
Friday Favorites: Diverse Books
Review: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
ARC Review: Some Choose Darkness by Charlie Donlea
#WWWWednesday: 22 May
Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Are Off Limits (to others, of course)

How has your reading and blogging week been?
Hope everyone is having a great weekend 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [05]

May 12, 2019December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

It’s the end of another weekend and I’m kind of boggled at how it’s already almost the middle of the month? How does this keep happening? 😂 We’re back with another Sundays In Bed With… meme, which dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday morning I woke up and immediately started reading my new book: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I’ve had this book on my shelf for quite a while and for reasons unknown I just haven’t picked it up until now. I think maybe all the hype around it is what put me off reading it right away, which is normally the case for me with overhyped books. I get FOMO but then question whether I’ll love it as much as everyone else. Definite first world bookworm problems! 😂 This will also be my first book for the #AsianReadathon, which I’m excited to participate in because as an Asian, I’m very embarrassed to admit that I don’t read very many Asian authors… Not on purpose though, I just don’t consciously diversify my reads, but I’m working on changing this from this month onward! Although I just started this book after midnight, I’m already about 30% through. I can feel the tension building up between the characters and I can just imagine how it’ll all explode. I have a feeling I’ll be wanting to read this well into the night tonight, and I can already see why everyone raves about this book. I have a feeling I’ll love it too!

What are you currently reading?

For the first time in a long time I’m not actually mad that the weekend is practically over because my bestie is coming up from Brisbane on Wednesday next week and we’re going to spend six days in a gorgeous villa to work on our tans by the pool/beach, to read all the books, to eat/drink all the food and cocktails, and to celebrate my birthday 🥳 I’M SO FREAKING EXCITED!! That said, there’s a good chance I might go MIA on the blogosphere next week because I’m not sure how much energy I will have after lying in the sun all day? Jokes! Sort of… I’m hoping to schedule some posts for the week tomorrow evening, but I’m pretty bad at that, so we’ll see how it goes. For now, just in case you missed it, here are the posts I’ve made this week:

Review: Little Darlings by Melanie Golding
Friday Favorites: Books That Were Recommended to You
Birthday Month Book Haul #1
#WWWWednesday: 08 May
Top Ten Tuesday: Characters That Remind Me of Myself
Review: All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

How are your May reads coming along? Are you participating in the#AsianReadathon too? Hope you’re all having a great weekend 🙂

#TopTenTuesday: Characters That Remind Me of Myself

May 7, 2019May 1, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

Welcome back to another Top Ten Tuesday! This meme was created by The Broke and the Bookish and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in 2018. Today’s prompt is: characters that remind me of myself. This week’s prompt is actually quite tough for me to answer and I wasn’t sure I could come up with a list. It’s not uncommon for me to stumble upon bookish characters I relate to but I am now struggling to remember exactly which books and characters I felt that way about! I’ve decided to loosely interpret this prompt, so here’s what I’ve come up with…

Roxane Gay, Hunger: A Memoir of My Body by Roxane Gay. Do real people count in this list? Because I’m counting Roxane Gay. I didn’t have the same harrowing experience as her as a child, but it’s like she plucked the thoughts and emotions right out of me in regards to how she sees, thinks and feels about her body and more importantly, how society sees and thinks we should feel about our bodies.

Hannah Martin, Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I recognized and connected to Hannah’s character from the moment she’s introduced. We’re roughly the same age and her confusion about what she wants to do in life and trying to find the place to call home really resonated with me as someone who has moved around a lot in my life.

Unnamed Narrator, Chemistry by Wieke Wang. As an Asian girl, I related so much to how the unnamed narrator navigated her way through parental expectations, and letting herself choose her own path, rather the one expected of her. This experience is something I went through as well.

Nina Zenik, The Shadow & Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. Basically, her love for food and how unabashed she was about it. I love food so much and I don’t care who knows it!

Belle, In Bed With the Beast (The Naughty Princess Club #2) by Tara Sivec. I saw myself in the quiet, nerdy book girl who has a close relationship with her family and who is so eager to please them, while also trying to find a way to step out and discover herself. I also related to how she transforms from this quiet girl to someone who takes no crap from anyone, especially when standing up for the ones she loves most.

Ariel Waters, Kiss the Girl (The Naughty Princess Club #3) by Tara Sivec. She uses her brash and bold persona to cover up her insecurities that actually really run deep, which really reminds me a lot of how I can act sometimes (okay, a lot of the times).

Daniel Gold, The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. Daniel has a deep love for his family but he is also unable to appropriately express himself and his feelings, which is something I struggle with too sometimes. I saw myself in his quiet, serious character whose family sees as very put together.

Griffin, History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera. I saw myself in Griffin’s sentimental character, and his experience of heartbreak and loss, as well as his fear of change and letting go of the past to move forward.

Quinn, All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover. I can’t relate to what Quinn experienced in her marriage, but I did relate very much to her internal processing of her experience. It’s so easy to fake being happy and to dance the “everything-is-okay” dance, rather than to be open about your thoughts and emotions. It’s not the most positive trait but how she kept everything she was going through inside of her really reminded me of how I used to deal with my mental health.

Lois Clary, Sourdough by Robin Sloan. I could really relate to her thoughts in terms of wondering at being a part of something more; something significant and important. I think that’s what we all go through in our 20s, 30s (and well, some even longer), especially as we finish university and start looking for a job and try to find more meaning in our lives.

Wow, this was a tough one to answer! What characters remind you of yourself? If you’ve done a TTT post for today’s prompt drop your link in the comments!

Sundays In Bed With… [01]

April 14, 2019December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads1 Comment

The Sundays In Bed With… meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday I’ve been reading The Dry by Jane Harper. This book is really making me nostalgic for all things Aussie! I’m reading this with one of my besties and even though I just started, I’m hooked in!

In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain. Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier. But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke’s death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds in bleed into new ones.